Did you know that over 44 million Americans are Medicare beneficiaries? And if you’re one of those 44 million Americans, you need to be aware of a few notable changes that are coming to Medicare in 2020.

Most importantly, you need to know about the various price increases that will go into effect next year. In fact, depending on what plan you have or how much your annual income is, these changes could lead to you deciding Medicare isn’t the best option for you and your family anymore.

 

So what is the basic Medicare cost plan for 2020? And what prices are going up in price and by how much? If you’ve been asking yourself questions like these, ask no longer, because we’ve got all the answers you’re looking for!

In this article, we’ll break down all of the notable changes to Medicare in 2020. More specifically, we’ll tell you how much more you’re going to be paying next year, as well as why the prices went up.

Now then, let’s get started!

Your Standard Monthly Premium Will Rise

There are multiple Medicare price increases scheduled for 2020. And while all of them are notable, it’s important to start with the standard monthly premium.

This, of course, is the price most commonly associated with various Medicare plans. The standard monthly premium is scheduled to rise to $144.60 next year. That is a $9.10 increase from last year’s $135.50 standard premium.

That $9.10 dollar rise means you’ll be spending around $109.20 more in 2020 to have Medicare, which may not seem like much to some, but can be the difference between having healthcare and not for others.

So why is the price going up? What has changed? Well, the price goes up yearly, for various reasons. Next year’s price increase, in particular, will help cover a wide variety of improvements to the Medicare website.

Speaking of Medicare websites, if you’re looking for a Medicare plan, be sure to use https://medicarewire.com/medicare-plans/ to find the perfect plan for you.

Your Annual Deductible Will Rise

Unfortunately, the standard monthly premium isn’t the only thing that is going to rise in price in 2020. The annual deductible next year is also scheduled to increase, which again, is normal.

Plan B’s annual deductible, in particular, will raise $198.00. That’s a $13.00 increase from 2019’s $185.00 annual deductible.

The reason for the rise in price is due largely to the cost of physician-administered drugs in the United States. If you aren’t aware, standard prescription drugs, when compared to other countries, cost much more in the United States.

This is an issue that has been heavily addressed so far by candidates running in the 2020 election. It’s certainly worth keeping an eye on as we get closer to election day.

Other Various Income-Related Adjustments

If you have Medicare already, you know that everything that you pay varies depending on your income. A basic breakdown is simple, the more you make annually the more money you have to pay for the insurance itself.

In 2020, there will be a few notable income-related adjustments that may or may not affect you. In fact, only 7% of beneficiaries will pay more money due to income-related adjustments in 2020, so it’s quite a small number of people.

As far as the notable adjustments are concerned, what is classified as “high income” is actually rising. Instead of 2019’s $85,000 per year salary, a high income will now be considered anything $87,000 or higher.

So if you’re someone who was right on the line, this could affect you positively, which of course, is good news.

Upgrades to The Medicare Finder Tool

If you’ve ever used the official Medicare website, especially over the past few years, you’ve probably noticed how dated everything looks. And when it comes to functionality, the website doesn’t work as well as most websites in 2020 do.

The good news is, someone noticed this and decided to start making some major upgrades to the site itself. The most notable is an update to the Medicare finder tool, which has been improved and modernized.

The official Medicare website breaks down the upgrade in detail, but the overall gist is simple: it just works better. To break things down a bit further, a few notable improvements are:

• A faster prescription drug list builder
• More details on Medicare Advantage Plans (Part C)
• The ability to learn more about Medicare coverage options before you see plans

These upgrades are especially helpful if you’re applying for the first time, and thus, need to set everything up using this tool.

The Basic Medicare Cost Plan for 2020

Well, there you have it! Those are the basic price increases and changes for Medicare in 2020!

As you can see, everyone’s Medicare cost plan will increase in 2020. The reasons for those changes have also been explained, so you can be informed as to why your Medicare costs are going up. And now that you now know the numbers and can decide if Medicare is still the best option for you and your family.

On a positive note, if you’re someone who has been flirting with the “high income” minimum, that going up a bit could be helpful. And if you’re applying for Medicare for the first time, you’ll be able to do so using a brand new Medicare finder tool, which is good news.

Are you on Medicare? Considering signing up? Check out our blog for more information on it, as well as other health-related tips and tricks that you can use to live a happy and healthy lifestyle.